Albanian Alps – Albania

The Albanian Alps are a range of mountains in northern Albania. They are called the Accursed Mountains, or also known by the Serbian nameProkletije.

Regions

The region stretches over Shkoder and Tropoja districts from Northern Albania. Also, the mountains extend to Kosovo and Montenegro.

Towns and villages

Bajram Curri is the main city, and Shkoder is situated in the coastal plain, west of the region. Also, the villages Thethi and Valbone are main tourist attractions.

Albanian Alps

Parks

Thethi and Valbona constitute two separate Albanian National Parks. The Balkan Peace Park may one day exist in the greater region along the border of Albania / Montenegro / Kosovo.

Mountains

The highest mountains from the Albanian Alps are in Albania.

Understand

Edith Durham visited this region extensively and wrote a book about its customs.

Get in

Access to the mountains can be done from the north, precisely west from Shkoder and through the village of Boge. Here public transportation stops, also the asphalted roads, but you should continue to Thethi. It’s no recommended to walk, but you can hitchhike in the summer when various vehicles are going to Thethi. The road to Thethi is 25km long, but with not enough water and because the road is narrow, you really shouldn’t walk.

An easier way is to head up the wonderful Valbone valley from Bajram Curri. From Bajram Curri to Valbone you can take minibuses that go even to the last village of the valley, Rrogami, and 4km after it. The road is currently being improved.

Albanian Alps

Get around

A bicycle or on foot is recommended to get around. You can’t rely on public transportation because there’s just one minibus early in the morning.

The pass from Thethi to Rrogami is only passable on foot, so it is a challenging hike on a poorly marked trail. The only map available is a Soviet one from the 50s, on a scale of 1:50,000. However, this map isn’t available any more at the University of California – Berkley, but you can find it through the Bunker Trails project. If you decide to do the hike, than you made the right call because it is one of the best in the world.

A local guide is recommended. The trail starts after the village of Rrogami, and sometimes it seems to disappear. Locals speak English and Italian, but it’s recommended to speak Albanian. Also, if you don’t want to walk on foot, you can rent a horse or a donkey from the villagers for 5,000 ALL.

Albanian Alps

See

Stunning scenery and grand vistas, traditional Albanian houses and villagers, and a unique and difficult way of life.

Lock-in tower (Thethi) is restored. This lock-in tower is a must-see because it’s one of the last remaining examples in Albania. This tower was used to protect the male members of a family while it was under blood feud. These blood feuds were extinguished during communist times, but in the 90s, killings were increased because there weren’t laws. New York Times wrote a series of articles about the Leke Dukagjini, Kanun and these blood feuds. You shouldn’t worry about them, because tourists are protected, but still, you should e careful.Grunas Waterfall in Valbone and spectacular Valbona River

Do

First, hike the mountains! The reduced traffic allows you to hike even on the roads. Also, you can go fishing in the Valbone river, or just talk to people and visit some of the hundreds of caves from Razem village. The rapids near Dragobia are a popular place.

Albanian Alps

Eat

It may be hard without speaking Albanian, but you should try to buy food from the locals. The can offer home-baked bread, cheese, pickles, fruits and vegetables, Mazë(a dish made from butter, corn flour and sheep cheese), roasted ram(Ferlik), wild bird based dishes and freshly baked trout.

Drink

Here you can taste home-made raki (plum alcohol), Turkish coffee and locally made wine.

Sleep

Besides hotels from the cities, you can sleep in traditional guesthouses that are becoming more popular. It’s actually very easy to find people that will allow you to sleep in their house, for a price around 20 Euros that includes breakfast and dinner. Locals tend to bargain the price when you leave, but this isn’t recommended so you should do it when you arrive.

Albanian Alps

There are also some hotels and guesthouses in the villages of the Albanian Alps:

Hotel Kelmendi (Dod Dragu (Gjerkaj) Guest house), 355 42 227 121, [1]. This traditional guest house is a ten minute walk outside the village of Lepushe, one of the northernmost villages of the Albanian Alps € 20.
Marash Pllumbaj Guesthouse, Vermosh. This is a family home and guesthouse typical of the northern Alps region. It’s also very close to the border of Montenegro € 20.
Hotel Rilindja, Valbone. It’s a recently built hotel by an American lady and local owner Alfred Selimaj.
There is a hostel / campsite in the Valbonë valley in between Dragobia and Valbonë.

The only alpine resort in the area is located in Razem:

Natyral Razma Rezort, Razem. (+355) 68 60 45 457, (+355) 68 60 45 455. This alpine resort which is the only in the area, offers from sauna rooms, internet and indoor swimming pools, to local tours and ski courses.

In the Thethi area you’ll find cell coverage, but not in Valbone, here you must hang the phone into a tree to have signal.

Albanian Alps

Stay safe

Try to not get lost in the mountains, because this area is not inhabited by many people, and the trails are not market. If you can, you should have a GPS, or just a simple basemap from the Bunker Trails project.

It’s said that there are wolves and bears in the area, so you shouldn’t go for camping if you’re afraid, but if you do decide to camp, than cover your food or some bears may visit you.

Violent conflicts were created due to isolation and extreme poverty. Albania was sealed until 1991, but because the condition of the roads was bad, this area was isolated even longer.

The Albanian police managed to retake control of the country after the chaos of 1997, and this is known as one of the strongholds of resistance to law and order.

Although you’re safe as a tourist, you should ask the locals which areas are safe to visit and which of them should be avoided.